Stress, sleep and smoking: how mentally and physically healthy are kiwis?

• The results of New Zealand’s annual health survey have been released, providing a picture of the health of kiwifruit.
• Nearly one in five adults is a hazardous drinker, probably men.
• Daily smoking is at an all-time low, but vaping is on the rise.
• One in nine adults and nearly a quarter of 15 to 14 year olds experienced high or very high levels of mental health problems.

Aotearoa has recorded the lowest daily smoking rate ever, but the number of people unable to get the psychological support they need is growing.

This is evident from the results of the annual health survey in New Zealandpublished Thursday.

The snapshot from Kiwi health, collected from 4434 adults and 1323 children (via their primary caretakers) between July 2021 and July 2022, shows:

• 19%​ of adults drank alcohol in a dangerous way
• Daily smoking decreased from 16% in 2011/12 to 8% in 2021/22
• Nearly one in 10 adults (9%) and 6% of children did not get the help they needed to deal with emotions, stress, mental health or substance use
• Nearly seven in ten adults and three-quarters of children got the recommended amount of sleep
• More than one in 10 adults experienced high or very high levels of mental health problems
• 7%​ of adults could not visit a doctor because they could not get time off from work
• One in 30 adults (3.3%) could not fill a prescription due to cost.

READ MORE:
* Fears of declining adolescent use of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis have abated and may turn
* Marginalized groups suffer from poor health and are discriminated against, finds mental health report
* Covid-19: Lockdown took an emotional toll on Kiwis, surveys show

Nearly 1 in 5 are dangerous drinkers

In 2021/22, four in five adults (79.1%) drank alcohol in the past year – an increase from 78.5% the previous year.

Nearly one in five (18.8%) were dangerous drinkers: more likely men. There was no significant change in the overall rate.

In 2021/22, 18 to 24 year olds had the highest prevalence of hazardous drinking (31%).

Asian adults had the lowest rate of hazardous drinking than other ethnic groups (6%), compared to: Māori (33%); Pacific (21%) and Pākehā/other (20%).

More than half of 15 to 17 year olds reported drinking in the past year (57%) – despite the legal purchasing age of 18. This percentage had not changed significantly since 2011/12.

Lowest daily smoking rate ever, vaping on the rise

The daily smoking rate in New Zealand has fallen to an all-time low of 8% of adults who smoke daily, compared to 9.4% a year ago. Daily use of vaping/e-cigarettes increased.

There was a large drop in the daily number of smokers for Māori wāhine: a quarter of Maori female smokers stopped in the last 12 months, from 24.1% last year to 18.2%.

Daily smoking has halved in the last 10 years: compared to 16.4% in 2011/12.

Adults living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas were 4.3 times more likely to smoke.

An estimated 380,000 adults (9.2% of respondents) were current smokers – smoking at least monthly – up from 10.9% in 2021/21.

In 2021/22, 8.3% of adults were daily users of vapers/e-cigarettesto 6.2% last year.

Vape use was highest among 18-24 year olds (22.9%); Māori (17.6%) and Pacific peoples (16.8%).

Distress and unmet need

One in nine adults (11.2%) reported having experienced many or very many psychological complaints in the past year – up from 9.6% in 2020/21.

This rose to 23% among young people aged 15-24, compared to 5.1% in 2011/12.

High or very high levels of mental health problems were more common in disabled adults than non-disabled adults: (32.8% and 9.2%, respectively).

Māori and Pacific adults were also more likely to have mental health problems in the past year than non-Māori/Pacific and those living in poverty.

Most adults experienced no/little (70.8%) or moderate (18%) levels of mental health problems in the four weeks leading up to the 2021/22 survey.

Nearly 9% of adults reported this an unmet need for professional help for their emotions, stress, mental health or substance use last year, compared to 4.9% in 2016/17 – with young adults (aged 15-24) reporting the highest rates (16.2%) of unmet need for help.

Fruit and vegetables and food security

Half of the adults (49.8%) met the fruit intake recommendation (2+ servings per day), and only 10% met the vegetable recommendation (5-5.5 servings per day).

Nearly three quarters of the tamariki met the recommended fruit guidelines (1-2 servings) and 6.4% met the vegetable recommendations (2.5 to 5.5 servings).

Household food insecurity was more common in deprived neighborhoods, the study found.

More than 12%​ of children lived in households where food ran out “sometimes or often”, similar to last year – up from 20% in 2019/20.

One in 10 tamariki lived in households that sometimes or often use food banks or subsidies (comparable to previous years), and 12.9% sometimes or often eat less due to lack of money for food.

Physical activity and obesity

Obesity – looking at height, weight and waist, body size and blood pressure – was not measured in 2021/22 due to Covid-19 restrictions.

However, just over half of the adults (51.9%) met each other exercise guidelineswhile nearly 13% did little or no activity last year.

General satisfaction with health and life

Most Kiwis reported being in “good health” overall (88.4%), similar to last year, and parents reported that 98% of tamariki were in good health.

Disabled adults, however, reported being in good health less often than non-disabled adults.

Life satisfaction was also generally high, with 83.6% of adults rating their life satisfaction as high (at least seven out of 10).

Disabled adults, people living in the most deprived areas and people aged 15 to 24 rated their life satisfaction as lower than average.